Trump’s PBS defunding ruled unlawful
April 2, 2026
By Chris Forrester
A US federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s executive order to end funding for NPR (National Public Radio) and PBS public media violated the First Amendment.
The judge wrote that the First Amendment right to free speech “does not tolerate viewpoint discrimination and retaliation of this type. It is difficult to conceive of clearer evidence that a government action is targeted at viewpoints that the President does not like and seeks to squelch.”
In his ruling, Judge Randolph D. Moss of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, said “the First Amendment draws a line, which the government may not cross, at efforts to use government power – including the power of the purse – ‘to punish or suppress disfavored expression’ by others.”
It wasn’t immediately clear what the decision, which could be appealed by the administration, would mean for the future of federal funding of public broadcasting.
However, the Court verdict might not help the two entities given that the US Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) last summer. Following the end of US federal government funding, the CPB announced in August 2025 that it would cease operations in January 2026. Most of its staff departed following the end of the fiscal year on September 30 2025; a small team remained until January to “focus on compliance, fiscal distributions, and resolution of long-term financial obligations.”
On January 5th, the CPB board of directors voted to dissolve the corporation entirely.
Public broadcasting stations from the CPB were funded by a combination of private donations from listeners and viewers, foundations and corporations, as well as government sources from 1967 to 2025. Funding for public television in 2013 came in roughly equal parts from government (at all levels) and the private sector.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded in a statement: “This is a ridiculous ruling by an activist judge attempting to undermine the law. NPR and PBS have no right to receive taxpayer funds, and Congress already voted to defund them. The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
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